Jennifer Hudson has become an EGOT after winning a Tony Award for the musical A Strange Loop, which she co-produced.
The singer and actress, 40, is the 17th person and second Black woman in the world to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award.
Jennifer Hudson has won an Emmy, two Grammys, an Oscar, and a Tony Award
A Strange Loop won Best Musical at the 2022 Tony Awards ceremony.
Jennifer won her first Oscar in 2007 for her role in Dreamgirls. She then earned her first Grammy in 2009 for her album Jennifer Hudson, and last year she got a Daytime Emmy for the animated short film Baba Yaga, which she co-produced.
She also won a second Grammy in 2017 for her work on “The Color Purple” soundtrack.
Previously asked about how she planned to reach EGOT status, Jennifer joked to People magazine: “I should get two more dogs. I got a dog and named it Oscar, and then I won my Oscar. And then I got a dog and named it Grammy, and then I won my Grammy.”
“So I think I should get some dogs and name them Emmy and Tony — and it’ll give me good luck, and I’ll win. [They’re] like my good luck charms,” the singer continued.
The 16 other EGOT winners include John Legend, Audrey Hepburn, Rita Moreno, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Whoopi Goldberg, who was the first Black woman to reach the award level.
Jennifer Hudson’s career beginnings
In 2004, Jennifer took part in the third season of American Idol. Despite being a huge fan favorite, she was eliminated and landed 7th place.
Two years later, however, the vocal powerhouse starred in her breakout role as Effy in the musical Dream Girls. It’s fair to say the rest is history.
One of Jennifer’s recent projects was playing the role of Aretha Franklin in the biopic Respect.
Speaking about portraying the legend, Jennifer told NME: “You know when you have your game face on, but inside you’re like ‘what in the world?’ It was exciting, but also scary.”
“Even when it was time to film, I was still freaking out in my mind about it. But because she had said, ‘I want you to play me,’ that gave me the courage to be able to get through it. It was like, well if you believe I can do it, I’m willing to try.”
Jennifer is the mother of son David Daniel Otunga Jr, 12, who she shares with her ex-fiancé David Daniel Otunga.